


The Things We Can't Undo

by maderi



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Keith (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Childhood Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Heartache, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Misunderstandings, Omega Shiro (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Shiro (Voltron), patience yields focus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:40:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21927598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maderi/pseuds/maderi
Summary: Sometimes, a single moment defines how your life will be. Sometimes, the words you say should have never left your mouth, and other times, the words you never said were the ones that mattered the most. After all, how often do you get a second chance to make right what you wronged?
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 45





	The Things We Can't Undo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chaxsthexries](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Chaxsthexries).



> I got Chaxsthexries as a giftee during this year's Voltron Secret Santa event!  
> I couldn't decide what to go with from your requests, so I mixed them all together. I hope I managed to at least make something that you would enjoy. 
> 
> Merry Christmas!

They had just been pups when they first met. Keith, a few years younger than Shiro, had moved with his father to Shiro's neighborhood after his mother had disappeared. 

Keith had been an odd child, even back then, but the following years had been harder on him, making him more of an introvert. It was no secret that Keith's mother had left them, had left her pup and mate behind, something the other children found great pleasure in reminding him. 

Still, Keith had found his own balance. Shiro had walked up to him the day they lived in and declared that they would be best friends. Keith had of course accepted without any hesitation. 

Through the years, the two became inseparable, spending every waking moment together. They rarely fought, always made up short minutes later and always hugged the other goodbye. 

The old ladies in town had said for years that they were destined to be mates, but at the time, neither one had paid much attention to them, too caught up with living their childhood to the fullest. 

Then Shiro had presented as an Omega. 

Being an Omega in and of itself wasn't the problem for Keith, but the intense drive he suddenly developed that very night, called for problems. 

Shiro had been a late bloomer, presenting first years after what was normal for most Omegas. It wasn't unheard of, but it didn't happen often enough to not pull comments. 

For the first time in his life, Shiro was looked down on. He'd been on a fast track lane to become the perfect Alpha, A+ grades, record-setting achievements, and performances, and then he was kicked off of the sports team. 

No Omegas were allowed outside an Omega/Beta team in case of unexpected heats. 

For weeks, Shiro walked around as if a shell of his former self. His grades fell, his smile disappeared and in the end, he didn't even want to get out of bed to face the day. 

In the middle of it, Keith stood completely helpless. It wasn't as if he hadn't been there every step of the way, but something had changed between them. 

He didn't know what to do to make Shiro feel better anymore. In a short few weeks, Shiro would graduate and then, maybe they would never see each other again. 

They hadn't really talked about what Shiro would do when he graduated, had never imagined being apart like that before. But thinking about it now, made Keith realize that he couldn't be the reason why Shiro didn't pursue his dreams. 

They had always wanted to be pilots, to go to Garrison together and be the best team they had ever seen. They would graduate together and travel through space as a team. 

But never once had Keith realized that it would be impossible to achieve. Shiro was older than he was, there was no way Keith could catch up to him and it would be unfair to have Shiro wait for him. 

As Shiro's graduation neared, their relationship got better again. Shiro let Keith in once more and they were quickly picking up where they left off. 

"I was accepted to the Garrison," Shiro said one evening as they lay side by side on a grassy hill, looking up at the twinkling stars. 

"Oh... T-that's g-great news," Keith is barely able to string the sentence together. "Congratulations," 

It burns inside Keith as if he's swallowed glass shards. His jaw is clenched tightly and tears sting his eyes. He wants to be happy for Shiro, wants to be supportive, but the fact that he's going to lose his best friend hurts too much. 

"You will apply too, right?" Shiro asks and Keith wants to scream yes, but instead, something else falls out of his mouth. 

"Why would I? I'm not even sure I wanna graduate," Keith doesn't know where the words are coming from, where the nonchalant indifference bubbles out off. 

"What?" Shiro asks in disbelief beside him, sitting up to stare at Keith. 

Keith just shrugs, refusing to look at Shiro. He knows that if he does, he'll never be able to forgive himself. 

"Keith, what are you s-saying?" Shiro asks and his voice wobbles and breaks. 

"Who are we trying to fool, Shiro. By the time I graduate and enter the Garrison, you'd be long gone already. And that is if I'm even accepted." Keith bites out angrily. 

"Where is this coming from, Keith? This has been our dream since we were pups..." The words pull on something painful inside Keith's chest. 

"Maybe for you..." Keith shrugs, he doesn't mean any of it, but he's unable to stop himself. 

"I-is this because I presented a-as an O-omega?" And Shiro's voice sounds so small, so fragile compared to the fierce man he's grown to be. 

Keith finds that he's unable to reply to that, which only makes it worse. He can hear the broken whine leaving Shiro's lungs even before it escapes and he feels all the worse for it. 

Shiro doesn't say anything else before he runs away, leaving Keith alone in their grassy hill. 

Walking home, Keith kicked himself for having allowed his own insecurity to take the wheel. He didn't understand what had happened, didn't understand where the words even came from. 

Knocking on Shiro's front door, Keith half expects an angry Shiro to rip it open before seething in his face. They'd make up and then they'd be alright again. 

When no one opens the door, Keith pulls out his phone and text Shiro instead. It goes unread for ten minutes. When he calls Shiro's cellphone after fifteen minutes, it goes straight to voicemail. 

He doesn't know what to say and before he's landed on anything, the beep finishes and the call disconnects. He sends another message to Shiro. It too remains unread. 

Slowly, it started to dawn on Keith that this was the worst fight they had ever had. Desperation clawed at his chest, a deep need to make it alright again. Knocking on the door again, Keith received no reply. 

The lights were on in the house, so Shiro's grandparents were still awake. Keith follows the house wall over to the garden and looks through the window into the Shirogane's living room. 

No one was there. The TV was on, Mr. and Mrs. Shirogane's night time teacups were on the table, but the people themselves were nowhere to be seen. 

Walking to the opposite wall, Keith looked up into the window of Shiro's bedroom. There was a soft light on, probably from the door being open, but other than that, the room was dark. 

He would have a better view from his own bedroom window, so with that, Keith sprints over the gardens and into his own house, rushing up the stairs and over to his own window. The scene that greets his just about rips his heart out. 

On the bed, Shiro's huge form lays curled in on himself, his grandmother hugging him from behind, his grandfather sitting on the end of the bed, a hand slowly rubbing Shiro's leg. 

Keith picks up his phone again and dials Shiro's number. He can see the phone lighting up on Shiro's nightstand, bathing the people on the bed in a harsh blue light. Shiro's grandparents look up at the phone, but Keith’s calling brings no reaction from Shiro himself. 

Back to back for an hour, Keith calls Shiro within luck. And then, when Shiro reaches out to grab his phone, Keith hopes to hear his voice, hopes he'll be given the chance to apologize. 

Instead, the room goes back to being illuminated by the cracked door and the operator’s voice tells Keith that number he's dialing is out of reach. 

Keith stands there for hours, just looking at Shiro being comforted. Before he knows it, the sun is rising and Shiro has finally fallen asleep. His grandfather drapes a blanket over his wife and grandson, before walking over to the window to pull the curtains shut. 

He stops when he sees Keith in his own window, Keith raised his hand to the glass, longing for Shiro. Shiro's grandfather shakes his head before he pulls the curtains shut and then, Keith is left in the dark. 

That day, Shiro doesn't show up for school. Keith is not surprised, given the fact that he had been up all night. He had still hoped though. 

When Keith makes his way home, he stops at Shiro's house again, preparing to knock on the door until they let him in, until he gets to see Shiro. Instead, he's met with silence. No one is home. 

Keith runs over to his own house and up the stairs to his room. He's pleased to see Shiro's curtains open, but then, something is just not right with Shiro's room. A few minutes go by before it clicks in Keith's mind. 

Shiro's room is empty of his belongings. 

Of course, there were a million explanations as to why that was, Keith tried to comfort himself. Shiro was graduating soon, he probably just packed up early. 

But then, a week went by and a 'For Sale' sign was hung on the Shirogane's house. Keith felt numb. 

Shiro had moved, had left without saying goodbye, had left him without giving Keith a chance to apologize. His Omega had left him behind. 

But Shiro wasn't Keith's Omega, had never been. Shiro would never be a piece that belonged to someone. Keith looked back at that night in the grassy hill, looked back on the words he had said, the words he had not said, but that had meant the most to Shiro. 

A year goes by before Keith sees Shiro again. He never stopped texting or calling him, but the messages remained unread and his calls went to voicemail. Keith was hellbent on making things right though. 

For a year, he'd worked himself to the bone, skipping through every loophole there was to finally, finally graduate many years ahead of his grade. And then, he tackled the Garrison. 

Keith had almost crushed every record the Garrison had, coming in second, only one T. Shirogane. Keith had never been more proud of Shiro than at that moment. To see that Shiro hadn't let his secondary sex rule him, that he'd gone way and beyond any expectation, made something inside him burn brightly with pride. 

Meeting Shiro again did not go as Keith had expected though. He had imagined Shiro still angry, furious even, to see him. He had gone through countless scenarios where he'd either be decked or hugged or screamed at. 

Keith had not expected pure indifference from Shiro though. 

On his first day, Keith had walked through the entire facility on the hunt for Shiro. When he'd finally found him, when Shiro saw his smiling, relieved face, he had simply turned his head to the Betas by his side and continued walking as they talked about something on a chart. 

Keith had been so perplexed that by the time he caught up with the direction Shiro had left in, the man in question was nowhere to be seen. 

A week passed before Keith saw Shiro again. This time, the two Betas sat on each side of Shiro, laughing and smiling as they all talked over lunch. 

"Yeah, I wouldn't bother, buddy," Lance's annoying voice rang from beside him. "Shiro hates Alphas with a vengeance."

"It's common knowledge, really," Hunk, another of his classmates chirps up as he sits down on Keith's table. "He's so kind and friendly towards everyone, but once an aloha wants more than just advice on something... Well, let's just say that 'hell hath no fury' like that one." 

"What do you mean?" Keith asks, anger taking a back burner to know why Shiro hated Alphas. 

"The rumor is," Lance starts excitedly, leaning in over the table, "that he got played by this douche Alpha back from where he lived before. The Alpha didn't think he was good enough because he was an Omega. That's why he's pushing himself to the limit to prove every Alpha wrong." He finishes, looking over his shoulder at the trio on the other side of the cafeteria. 

An Alpha had hurt Shiro. Why hadn't he told him? Was that the reason why Shiro didn't want to talk with him? What if an Alpha had hurt him when Shiro walked back home after their fight? 

The thoughts of what could have happened to Shiro because of him sent Keith into a ball of fury. Growling menacingly, Keith was surprised to see Shiro glance in his direction before leaving the hall. 

"That's Adam and Curtis, Shiro's best friends." Hunk adds helpfully, "They've been inseparable since day one." 

"I heard they were all lovers," Lance chirps in excitedly spreading the gossip. 

But something inside Keith had snapped at that. Someone had taken his Omega from one, had dared to take his mate away from him. Everything goes black around him. 

"Holy fuck!" Lance screams, the shrill of his voice penetration the thick angry fig that surrounded Keith. 

"Yield," A voice he knew all too well demanded in his ear, hot breath breathing down the side of his neck. 

"Keith," The same voice calls again, "Come back to me." So Keith does. 

His right cheek stings horribly, something slick gunning down his neck. There's a blooming pain in his right shoulder too, but right then, Keith's more focused on the heavy body above him, pinning him firmly to the floor as he talks to him. 

There's Garrison guards around them, Iverson's furious face just a few steps away from them. Keith doesn't know what's happening, doesn't understand. All he knows is that Shiro was hurt by an Alpha and that he couldn't protect himself. 

There were Alphas all around them, which one was it? Which one had dared hurt his Shiro? 

"Keith, calm down," Shiro hisses in his ear, it had Keith whining in response. 

"Step away, Iverson," Shiro calls, "Tell them to stand down, I've got this. He's harmless." 

"Harmless? Shirogane, have you seen your face? Kogane is anything but harmless." Iverson growls. 

"Trust me," Shiro asks, and for a brief moment, nothing happens. Then Iverson turns around and the whole room clears. 

"Keith, I'm gonna let go of you, slowly," Shiro says, putting his full weight on Keith before slowly getting off of him. 

Sitting up, Keith's head spins until his eyes land on Shiro's face. A deep, menacing growl erupts from his throat at the sight of Shiro's face. 

Across the bridge of his nose, a long wound stretches to end in the middle of both of Shiro's cheeks, right beneath his eyes. The slash is bleeding heavily down his face, the blood smeared this and that way. 

"Who hurt you?" Keith growls, darkness pressing in on his vision. 

"You did," Shiro says without missing a beat, face neutral, tone flat. 

"W-what?" Keith finds himself asking, all anger and fury bleeding away from him at the revelation. 

"Your presentation was forced by something, you went into a furious rage and went after me." Keith registers the words Shiro is saying, but they don’t make any sense to him. 

"I knew you disapproved of me being an Omega, Keith, but I never thought you'd hate me for it." And then, Shiro gets up and turns to leave. "You need to go to the med bay, they'll take care of your own wounds."

'No, stay! Shiro!' Keith wants to call after him, but he's too perplexed to do anything. 

"Make sure he gets to the nurse and then bring him to Iverson's office," Shiro says with a soft smile to Hunk and Lance who's standing in the hallway with Shiro's... mates, before leaving with them. 

Growling once more, Keith gets to his feet and stomps past his friends. He doesn't care about going to the med bay, instead opting for running laps outside. 

It's fitting that dark clouds have rolled in, that rain all but lays flat on the wind. Keith pushes through his anger until he's sick to his stomach. 

Shiro had mated. 

The two Betas constantly by his side were his mates. An Alpha had pulled Shiro away from him, had hurt him and then, these two had snatched him up and made him theirs. The fact that he had presented an Alpha, completely escaped him. Wiping his mouth, Keith pushed through a few more rounds until Lance and Hunk made him stop. 

"You need to go to Iverson's office, Keith." Hunk calls, making Keith kick the dirt beneath his shoes. 

“I think you’re in real trouble, man,” Lance adds, “You did a number on Shiro.” 

The reminder has him growling at his classmate. The last thing Keith needs is to be reminded that he hurt Shiro, that he’d blacked out and lost his head completely. He was an Alpha, the secondary sex Shiro hated the most. As if it hadn’t been difficult to win Shiro back before, the new obstacle this brought, made it near impossible. 

Sighing deeply, Keith nodded to his friends, following closely as they walked in front of him. There wasn’t a student in Garrison that didn’t scowl at Keith as they walked to Iverson’s office. The fact that Shiro was the golden prince of Garrison was painfully obvious, and Keith had just made himself the most hated person in this place by hurting Shiro. 

“Commander Iverson will see you now,” The secretary said once Keith arrived, nose wrinkled in distaste as Keith walked past him. 

“-rust me on this. I will take full responsibility.” Shiro’s voice, stern, allowing no argument, speaks as Keith enters the room, the door swishing closed behind him. 

“Kogane,” Iverson says in way of greeting, brows furrowed in obvious anger. 

“Sir,” Keith doesn’t dare say anything else, doesn’t even acknowledge Shiro in the room. 

“Shirogane here has made you his problem if you step so much as a toe out of line, just once, you’re both out of here. Even though you are the best pilots to date, you are both expendable here at the academy. Do I make myself clear?” Iverson grunts, crossing his massive arms over his chest as he stares at the two of them. 

“Yes, Sir.” Shiro sighs, sounding tired and defeated. 

“Kogane,” Iverson pushes. 

“Shiro had nothing to do with this, Sir. It was all my fault.” Keith says instead, taking a chance to argue Shiro’s involvement. 

“Shiro, huh?” Iverson hums, looking between the two of them, “Shirogane has decided to vouch for you, I have decided to accept that. If you have a problem with it, you are free to drop out at any time. Your papers are ready to be signed,” The finality of Iverson’s words made it clear to Keith that he was going to be expelled today, had it not been for Shiro stepping in. 

“Yes, Sir,” Keith mumbles after a few moments, bowing his head again. 

“Now, both of you, get your sorry asses to the med bay already.” Iverson dismisses them, turning in his chair to shelf a set of papers, no doubt Keith’s. 

Shiro twists around stiffly, pushing Keith through the door before grabbing his hand and drags him along the corridors until they reach the med bay where the nurse is already waiting for them. 

They sit in silence as the nurse huffs and mumbles to herself about the indecency of some Alphas and how a kind-natured Omega like Shiro didn’t deserve this. Keith just closed his eyes, refusing to see the disappointment on Shiro’s face as they waited. 

“Mr. Kogane, your room, and classes have been reassigned. You will be sharing a room and training schedule with Mr. Shirogane from now on. You will still have to finish your first year, so prepare yourself for double duty, cadet.” Iverson’s assistant greets them once they leave the med bay, giving Keith a duffle bag with his name on it. 

“You have got to be kidding me,” Shiro growls, “I’m an Omega and he just presented as an Alpha a few hours ago. He hasn’t even had his first rut yet.” He argues, anger rolling off of him. 

“We are well aware of this, Mr. Shirogane. Mr. Kogane will be required to wear this monitor,” The assistant holds up a watch-like device, “at all times until the day he either graduates or drops out.”

“Are you serious?” Keith gapes, feeling indignant and humiliated. “Why do I have to wear one?”

Immediately, he realizes his mistake. 

“What, you’re too good to wear a rut tracker?” Shiro sneers, crossing his arms and scowls at him. 

“That’s not what I... Shiro, I would never hurt you!” Keith flails, hoping with everything he was that Shiro knew that too, Instead, his previous best friend narrows his eyes.

“Oh yeah? So this slash across my face just magically appeared, did it?” Keith winces, bowing his head in shame and shakes his head. 

“How does it work?” 

“You wear it and it keeps track of your testosterone levels. It will map out a schedule after the second rut, giving you an indication of when to expect one. It’s waterproof, so you have no excuse to take it off. If you should feel inclined to do so, the two of you will pack your bags and be out of this academy on the hour.” The assistant smiles gleefully at Keith before he turns a more sympathetic smile on Shiro. 

He’s fitted with the tracker, the assistant getting it started, plotting in Keith’s details before giving him the access code to his new room. He leaves them with a short, casual wave and a soft ‘Good luck, Sirogane,’ before he’s walked out of sight.

Shiro walks at top speed a second later, forcing Keith to jog to keep up with the taller man. He doesn’t say anything as they walk through the halls, eventually slowing down and coming to a stop at the end of a corridor Keith has never been to before. He palms the scanner and with a loud swoosh, the door opens for them. 

“What’s he doing here?” The brown-haired Beta with glasses asks, crossing his arms over his chest. 

It drags the attention of the other Beta, the two of them almost as tall as Shiro, although not as massive. The darker of the two frowns as he carries two mugs of something hot out to the one with glasses. 

Keith looks around the big room and frowns. They have a small kitchenette, bunk beds on each side of the room and in the middle, a sitting area. It’s not huge, but it’s definitely bigger than the one the first years share. They even have their own bathroom. 

“He’s going to be living with me from now on. I understand if that’s not something the two of you want and I’ll understand if you ask for new accommodations,” Shiro sighs, sounding tired and defeated. 

“And leave you alone with this one? Yeah, not happening, Takashi.” The one with the mugs snorts as he stirs the content in his own mug, crossing his legs and leans back on the couch. 

“Curtis, that’s not...” Shiro starts, but the other one, Adam, interrupts. 

“What did you do, Takashi?” 

“Why would you automatically think that I did something?” Shiro barks, but there’s no anger in his voice. 

“Because that’s what you do,” Curtis deadpans as he takes a sip of his beverage. 

“Whatever,” Shiro waves a hand at them and leaves for the bathroom, leaving the three of them alone. 

“So,” Curtis starts, unsure of where to begin. “Welcome, I guess?”

“Curtis.” Adam fumes, scowling at Keith. “What’s your deal, kid?” 

Keith doesn’t reply, does a one up on both of them, finding nothing of importance or desire. He looks around the room again, noting how one side of the room has both bunkbeds in use, while the other only has the bottom one. He guesses the top bunk will be his and moves over. 

Hoisting himself up, Keith lays down and closes his eyes. He can hear the two Betas mumble between themselves and eventually hiss with Shiro about something or another when he emerges from the bathroom, bringing with him a cloud of steam and soap. 

He loses himself in his own head for hours, until Shiro’s whining pulls him out of his own head. Shiro has the bunk bed beneath him, something that surprises Keith. He had been so sure that either of the Betas would occupy that one. 

Now though, Shiro twists and turns in his sleep, the distress he used to have as a kid still marring every cell in his body. Before, if they were sleeping together, Keith would gather Shiro up in his arms and hum softly to him, a tune his father told him his mother used to sing to him. It never failed to calm Shiro down. 

Keith couldn’t do that now though, had lost the right to comfort the love of his life the second he decided to let Shiro believe the worst. Looking around the room, Keith kind of hopes Shiro’s fussing would wake the Betas, but the two sleeps soundly in their beds. 

In desperation, Keith hums the tune he knows so well, surprise settling in his chest when Shiro immediately calms down. His frown smooths out and before long, Shiro is curled up around his pillow, a deep softness replacing the distress. Keith doesn’t know how long he hums for Shiro, but he doesn’t stop before one of the Beta’s alarms goes off. 

The following day is a living nightmare for Keith. The new schedule is made to kill him, to make him willingly drop out. Everyone scowls at him and when he enters the second year classes, he’s all but shoved out of the way as the second year’s move to do their routine. 

It takes some getting used to, but eventually, Keith gets the hang of it. He has no social life to speak of, the only time he gets to meet up with anyone he knows is during his lunch which is shared with Hunk and Lance and eventually Pidge. 

The Beta’s soften up to him after a month’s time. They no longer scowl at him or ignore his presence, even strikes up a conversation from time to time. But Shiro remains as cold as ever, ignoring him at best and snaps at him at worst. His nightmares continue, but in addition to the old ones, Keith’s name desperately falls from Shiro’s lips more often than not. Those nights are the worst, forcing Keith to stay awake to try his best to comfort Shiro without being able to touch him. He’s a husk of himself the following day. 

Shiro keeps this up for almost an entire year. The two of them are still on top, Shiro a dead given by now, Keith as more of a surprise. Keith’s worked himself to the bone to keep up, to prove that Shiro’s word was gold, to not add insult to the injury already caused. 

He longed for Shiro every waking moment of every day, but until Shiro was ready, if he ever would be, Keith would keep enough distance to keep Shiro comfortable. He owed Shiro as much. 

Shiro brought him lunch that day, sitting down on the other side of the table and ate his lunch. Keith was too shocked to eat anything, regretting it later that day when second-year training had him emptying his already empty stomach. Keith was dead to the world the second his head met his pillow that night. 

Every day after that, Shiro brought him lunch, sitting down on the other side to eat. He never talked, but he didn’t have to, Keith read him loud and clear without words. Shiro was ready. 

“Thank you,” Keith started small, the next week, bringing Shiro’s favorite drink as he waited for Shiro to join him. 

Soon enough they were talking together, laughing and genuinely having fun. They hadn’t talked about what happened between them yet, neither one ready yet. A sense of their old friendship made them both bubble with energy. Shiro smiled more, seemed to be more happy and cheerful. That, in turn, made the Betas happy, which in turn made everyone else happy. 

Things were finally getting easier for Keith, so of course, something had to happen. 

They had two weeks left of the semester when someone opened their mouth and insulted Shiro. Keith saw red the moment Shiro’s face fell, hurt clearly written on his face. He might or might not have stormed towards the cadet, stopping at the last moment before a fist hit his cheek with a crunching sound. 

The Alpha that hit him, steps back in surprise, eyes wide, scared as Keith’s growl rumbled through the hallway. Betas whined and other Alphas yipped as the growl continued, but Keith just stood there between them, shielding Shiro from the bigoted Alpha, not moving a muscle. 

The second blow fell lower, the third added claws and then, the Alpa was fully attacking Keith. Still, Keith stood his ground, snarling and growling with his hands fisted so tightly that his palms bled. Shiro stood frozen behind him, well-protected until he snapped out of his shock. 

Even though the Alpha was bigger than Keith, he stood his ground. He’d let Shiro down once before, he would not repeat that mistake. Hit after hit, Keith refused to move until the Alpha was tackled to the ground, the Garrison guards finally arriving on the scene. 

Beaten and bloody, Keith finally let go and swayed when the other Alpha was sedated. His whole body hurt, head pounding furiously as Shiro supported his weight. He’s lifted and then, everything goes black. 

When he wakes up again, Shiro is there by his bed, holding his hand as he sleeps, head on the side of the bed. They’re in a hospital looking room, white walls, metal aluminum-framed bed with white bedding. His face hurts, his ribs hurt, everything hurts, but at least Shiro is holding his hand. Smiling to himself, Keith closes his swollen eyes and squeezes Shiro’s hand. 

“Keith?” Shiro mumbles a second later, forcing Keith to open his eyes once more. 

Shiro’s worried, grey eyes stare back at him, a soft smile gracing his lips before he frons and pinche’s Keith. 

“Y-ouch!” Keith wails, looking up at Shiro with what he hopes is as much betrayal as he feels. “What’d you do that for?” He yelps. 

“Why did you do that? That was so stupid, Keith!” Shiro barks back at him, but Keith immediately notices that there’s no heat behind it. 

“I won’t let another Alpha hurt you,” Keith mumbles and looks away. 

“Another... Keith, what are you talking about?” The confusion in Shiro’s voice has Keith turning his head again. 

“They said an Alpha hurt you, that’s why you hate us.” It sounds juvenile and stupid when he says it out loud, but it was too late by then. 

“Who said that?” Shiro asks frowning. 

“I don’t know, people?” Keith shrugs and immediately regrets it. 

“Broken ribs,” Shiro comments before sighing deeply. “Keith, the only Alpha who’s hurt me is you.”

“I never - but...” Keith doesn’t understand. In his head, it had all been so clear. He was the reason Shiro had walked home alone that night, he was the reason Shiro had moved away, the reason he hated Alphas because he had let Shiro believe the words he’d never said. 

“That night, I saw you crying on your bed until early morning, and then when I git back, you had already left. I knew you were angry with me, but it wasn’t until I heard why that I really understood it.” Keith says softly, looking down at the hand still holding onto his. 

“Oh... You thought - that night,” Shiro said, voice small and sad. 

Keith didn’t have the power to reply, so he just nodded once, scratching carefully at the back of his neck as he waited for Shiro to retract his hand and leave him for good. 

“Keith, I walked home alright. There was no alpha other than you that night.” Shiro says, squeezing his hand softly. “You broke my heart, made me feel dirty and worthless when I needed your support the most,” 

The words don’t register at first, but when they do, Keith’s head shoots up. Confused purple eyes look up into sad red-rimmed grey ones as he goes over the words again. It doesn’t give him the clarity he searches for. 

“Shiro, I just presented Alpha a year ago, I was not the Alpha,” Keith says softly, “The words I said, the question I never answered. I never meant any of it, Shiro. I just let you believe that I did because I was hurting. I had just realized that we’d never go to Garrison together and it hurt so bad.” Keith whines, tears filling his eyes. He prayed to whatever higher being there was, that Shiro wouldn’t let go of his hand. He needed that connection. 

“I’ve always known that you would present as Alpha, Keith. I can’t explain it, I just did. When I turned out to be an Omega, I guess I was afraid of losing you, that you wouldn’t respect me and treat me the same as before.” Shiro’s hand loosens, and for a second, Keith desperately chases it, a distressed whine escaping him. But then Shiro laces their fingers together and smiles up at him. 

“You broke my heart that night, Keith, and I swore that I’d never let another Alpha come close to me again. I cried all night, watching you stand in that window, watching me, calling me, it hurt so bad.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t know any better, I’m sorry my immaturity hurt you so badly,” Keith whispers, slowly raising a hand to caress Shiro’s cheek, smiling softly when Shiro leans into the touch. Maybe, maybe it wasn’t too late. 

“I’ve loved you my entire life, Shiro. I still do. But the thought that I might have held you back from your dreams was too much of a burden for me to carry back then. I lashed out the only way I knew how. I regretted it immediately though, but by then, it was already too late.” Keith smiles sadly at Shiro. 

“It hurt so bad, Keith.” Shiro whispers, kissing the bandaged inside of his hand before sitting up again. “It still does,” 

“I’m sorry, Shiro,” And Keith means it with every cell in his body. 

“I know,” Shiro smiles and then he’s leaning forward, placing a soft, caste kiss on Keith’s lips. It hurts, but it’s the best kind of hurt Keith has ever felt before.

“What about your mates?” Keith whispers as they lean their foreheads together.

“My mates?” Shiro parrots, a confused look on his face.

“Curtis and Adam?” 

The smile that graces Shiro’s lips has Keith growling before he realizes what he’s doing. Shiro just looks so happy at the mere mention of their names, and Keith guesses he would be happy, after all, they were his mates. 

“They’re my best friends, Keith. When I moved here, they took care of me, comforted me when the pain got to be too much. The entire year, they stuck by me, no matter how much I complained or cried. There’s not a thing about you that they don’t know. So no, they’re not my mates, they’re just your replacements.” Shiro smiles softly, but the blow is no less fatal. 

“Do you have room for one more?” Keith asks, hopeful. 

“I don’t need another one,” Shiro answers truthfully, but it still breaks Keith’s heart all over. 

“You’re not getting what I’m trying to say, are you?” Shiro chirps in after a few moments of silence between them, “I don’t need you back as my best friend, because I want you as my mate.”

The words register in Keith’s mind, but he’s unable to understand them completely. He’s unsure of what he just heard is real or just his imagination playing tricks on him. 

“What?” The words sound stuffy in his own ears, but Shiro smiles shyly up at him, grey eyes almost twinkling in the dim light. 

“I love you too, Keith. I want to be with you for the rest of my life.” The words sound too good to be true, but when Shiro’s lips meet his again, firmer this time, Keith knows he’s not dreaming. 

They would make this work, would tackle the Galaxy Garrison, and then, together, they would explore outer space as a mated couple. Just as they had dreamed of as children. 

~ The End

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and happy holidays!


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